Robert MacFarlane

The follow-up to the internationally bestselling sensation The Lost Words, The Lost Spells is a beautiful collection of poems and illustrations that evokes the magic of the everyday natural world.

The Lost Spells

The art in this book is breathtaking. Something you will want to open again and again. The ‘spells’ are not quite the lyrical incantations I was hoping for. They often favoured rhyme over content and did not always contain the hope and wonder that was meant to be at the heart of this project. Feels like it could be a fun read to share over bedtime though as the illustrations are truly lovely and in my opinion, the best part (I particularly loved the glossary).

𝔢𝔪

Robert Macfarlane

Jackie Morris

Once upon a time, words began to vanish from the language of children. They disappeared so quietly that at first almost no one noticed - until one day, they were gone. But there is an old kind of magic for finding what is missing, and for summoning what has gone. If the right spells are spoken, the lost words can be brought back . . . All over the country, there are words disappearing from children's lives. Words like Dandelion, Otter, Bramble, Acorn and Lark represent the natural world of childhood, a rich landscape of discovery and imagination that is fading from children's minds. The Lost Words stands against the disappearance of wild childhood. It is a joyful celebration of the poetry of nature words and the living glory of our distinctive, British countryside. With acrostic spell-poems by peerless wordsmith Robert Macfarlane and hand-painted illustrations by Jackie Morris, this enchanting book captures the irreplaceable magic of language and nature for all ages.

A Spell Book

The Lost Words

Janice Hopper

I started following Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris on Twitter a while back. Jackie's art if fascinating and lovely, very nature-focussed. Robert's writing is deeply focused on words, especially regional words, lost words, uncommon words that are nevertheless the PERFECT word to describe something. Holloway. Murmuration. Kingfisher. 

I got my copy of The Lost Words today, and sat down to read it almost immediately. The first poem, on the humble acorn, stunned me with its beauty and imagery. All the rest of the poems and artwork were lovely and stunning. Kingfishers and otters and starlings. Conkers and wrens and weasels. Willows. Macfarlane may remind you a bit of Gerard Manley Hopkins in some places, but a little gentler and wittier.

I took the (for me) extraordinary step of going to a local independent bookshop and special-ordering the book. I'm normally an ebook reader, but you need to see this book in all its large format beauty. It's worth it.

My life is a little better because I've seen these images and read these words. Look it up. Read it. I hope you love it as much as I do.

Dazzlingly beautiful and wonderfully inventive, discover the magical new book from the creators of bestselling, critically acclaimed literary phenomenon, The Lost Words... Kindred in spirit to The Lost Words but fresh in its form, The Lost Spells is a pocket-sized treasure that introduces a beautiful new set of natural spell-poems and artwork by beloved creative duo Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris. As in The Lost Words, these "spells" take their subjects from relatively commonplace, and yet underappreciated, animals, birds, trees and flowers -- from Barn Owl to Red Fox, Grey Seal to Silver Birch, Jay to Jackdaw. But they break out of the triptych format of The Lost Words, finding new shapes, new spaces and new voices with which to conjure. Written to be read aloud, painted in brushstrokes that call to the forest, field, riverbank and also to the heart, The Lost Spells summons back what is often lost from sight and care, and inspires protection and action on behalf of the natural world. Above all, it celebrates a sense of wonder, bearing witness to nature's power to amaze, console and bring joy. Praise for The Lost Words: 'Gorgeous to look at and to read. Give it to a child to bring back the magic of language' Jeanette Winterson, Guardian 'Breathtaking, magical... Jackie Morris has created something that you could spend all day looking at' New Statesman 'Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris have made a thing of astonishing beauty' Observer

Mijs Franssen

From bestselling Landmarks author Robert Macfarlane and acclaimed artist and author Jackie Morris, a beautiful collection of poems and illustrations to help readers rediscover the magic of the natural world.

The Lost Spells

Reviews